Getting out during early small game season in September provides an opportunity to take some protein-packed table fare not found on grocery store shelves. It’s a time to check deer stands and movements in preparation for Michigan’s archery opener October 1st, as well. This week, however, I’ll share a startling scene from one of my recent excursions to the deciduous forest in search of more bushytails for the kettle.
The early morning dew’s moisture covered any noise from my hunting boots, as I entered the big woods in silence. My plan was to hide and watch and was aided by a heavy fog permeating my surroundings; it’s always a welcome addition to an already spooky experience of strolling in the dark. “That” feeling was coming over me again, as I experienced the wild world waking. The realization that it’s good to be alive hit home.
At the edge of the woods, I heard something dropping through the leaves. The sound repeated. Since it was still too early for acorns to be dropping in any large measure, my hunch that a squirrel was involved had to be investigated.
I didn’t bother with my portable chair, because I needed to maneuver into position to locate the origin of the commotion. A stately oak tree provided a welcome rest for my upper body, as I peered through the obstructed view toward the sky.
Patience would be the key, as the sporadic sound continued, and I became one with the tree. My orange cap was in motion – the only giveaway that this apex predator was lurking. I was alone in the moment, or so I thought; little did I know, I would become the hunted. Read more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced $900,000 in grants under the Wolf Livestock Demonstration Project Grant Program. Grants will be distributed to the states of Arizona, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The grants assist livestock producers in undertaking proactive, non-lethal activities to reduce the risk of livestock loss from predation by wolves, and compensate producers for livestock losses caused by wolves. The program provides funding to states and tribes, with federal cost-share not to exceed 50 percent. Read more
Government officials are always looking for ways to tax us under the radar. In this example, some folks will need to understand the laws regulating photography in the wilderness or face stiff penalties. Details here…
Ospreys, large fish-eating raptors, are experts at spotting fish in water from high above. They fold their wings back, thrust their large talons forward and smash into the water, snatch a fish, then take flight again. Larger than most hawks, but smaller than eagles, they have made a comeback in southern Michigan over the past 20 years.
Ospreys were initially listed as a threatened species in Michigan, but were removed from the list in 2009. One important reason osprey were delisted is because of the 10-year-long Osprey Reintroduction Project that took place from 1990 to 2000. This project involved moving 50 chicks from the northern parts of the state to areas in southern Michigan, and there are now more than 30 known nests in southern Lower Peninsula plus dozens of nests in the northern Lower and Upper peninsulas. The species is known to be very faithful to historical nesting grounds, which made the osprey’s return to the southern Lower Peninsula progress slow. Read more
On Monday we launched BoycottHSUS.com to ask Discover to reconsider its financial support of the deceptive Humane Society of the United States. It’s worth noting that a previous financial institution that supported HSUS apparently no longer does: Bank of America.
As recently as 2012, Bank of America had an affinity VISA card with HSUS. Today? No longer, as far as we can tell. BofA’s debit card page has VISA cards for sports teams and animal nonprofits such as Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Federation—but not HSUS. It appears BofA ended its relationship with HSUS last year—which is probably why HSUS is now working with Discover. There are a number of good reasons for any company not to work with HSUS—here are 15,750,000 reasons, for starters. If you haven’t already, sign the petition at BoycottHSUS.com and make your voice heard to Discover executives. We’ve received one reply so far from Discover, and we’ll keep you posted on any future ones.
The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) is pleased to report that hemorrhagic disease (HD), including EHD and bluetongue virus, seems to have taken a summer vacation in 2014, and the danger of a serious outbreak this year has now passed. Transmitted by biting gnats, the disease usually hits deer hardest in late summer and early fall, especially in unusually hot, dry years.
“A small number of reports are trickling in from scattered states, but we’re not seeing any nationwide trends or large outbreaks this year,” said Dr. David Stallknecht with the Southeast Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) at the University of Georgia. “This year is definitely below average so far.” Read more
The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) is pleased to report that hemorrhagic disease (HD), including EHD and bluetongue virus, seems to have taken a summer vacation in 2014, and the danger of a serious outbreak this year has now passed. Transmitted by biting gnats, the disease usually hits deer hardest in late summer and early fall, especially in unusually hot, dry years.
“A small number of reports are trickling in from scattered states, but we’re not seeing any nationwide trends or large outbreaks this year,” said Dr. David Stallknecht with the Southeast Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) at the University of Georgia. “This year is definitely below average so far.” Read more
We’ve launched a new site: BoycottHSUS.com. And we have our first campaign. The credit card company Discover recently started a new affinity card to benefit the deceptively named Humane Society of the United States. For every $100 someone with one of these cards spends, Discover will donate between 1 and 20 cents to HSUS. That may not seem like much, but Discover expects it will add up to slightly over $1 million. In fact, according to the contract, Discover paid HSUS $150,000 up front in advance royalty payments. And HSUS gets $100 from Discover for every person that signs up for the program from an HSUS communication and spends $100 within the first three months.
But where will that money go? Discover may not like the answer, and the company’s decision-makers should know the following:
Please visit BoycottHSUS.com and pledge to boycott Discover until it cancels its support for one of America’s most deceptive charities. And please share on Discover’s Facebook page to reach out to its 1.5 million followers. Until Discover affirms that it will either end (or not renew) its partnership with HSUS, it’s time to find another credit card company.
Small game hunting’s popularity has waned over the years, while the focus of most sportsmen in the Midwest has centered on whitetail deer. At the same time, however, there remains an under-utilized bonanza amid the woodlots and forests: squirrels.
Pursuing these acrobatic rodents has a way of making a hunter out of anyone – even youngsters. But, sportsmen must be able to wrap their minds around consuming them. I’ll not attempt to persuade anyone to like their delicate, sweet meat’s flavor, and frankly, if the concept is not for you, it’ll be more for me. So be it.
I decided rather spontaneously to visit a familiar site not far from home replete with the nutty tree dwellers. At dawn, I settled into my pre-planned location with a relatively open view of surrounding mixed hardwoods in the heavily foliaged mid-September forest with the rising sun at my back. A lightweight chair was set up next to two trees only 30 inches apart with one forming an impromptu rest. The ground was cleared of debris for silence afoot.
Squirrels and Coyote Taken with .22 Rimfire
The full-size Marlin lever-action Original Golden model 39A in .22 rimfire caliber, complete with a Leupold fixed 4 power rimfire scope and a piggy-back movie camera, could be maneuvered into resting position in any direction. The beauty of using a tree for a rest is that the shooter’s hand can be placed anywhere naturally found to be comfortable – unlike bipods that must be carried and manipulated.
Although the seemingly never ending absence of .22 rimfire ammo is still with us, some of the high-end cartridges are readily available. The “trouble” with much of it in the eyes of some shooters is that it is sub-sonic and it costs much more than other production high velocity brands. Some may perceive it to be inadequate for humane kills; however, because of its inherent accuracy through strict quality control, it will certainly do the job, if first the operator does his.
My choice has long been 40-grain solid Lapua Center X for one reason: consistent accuracy. As a quick check, I weighed about 10 random cartridges and found them to be the same weight. On the contrary, a well-known big manufacturer’s typical high-velocity product was weighed, as well, and the variance was eye opening. Is it any wonder that sometimes there are unexplained fliers?
If standard-velocity trajectory is a concern, I have found that if sighted in at 50 yards, the difference at 25 yards is inconsequential in terms of hunting, but it’s still worth the time and effort to see how your firearm will print on paper at various ranges.
Next worth considering is the lack of noise emitted by any sub-sonic ammo. Because it does not break the sound barrier, like high or hyper velocity ammo, not only will it help to save your hearing, it will not startle surrounding wildlife to the extent faster fodder will. I’ll get to that part later.
And, as is the case with any sub-sonic ammo, the velocity of the bullet is maintained better as a percentage over distance, than its hotter cousins, which shed velocity faster after the sonic boom is created.
The setup should be such that the hunter gains some advantage of a rest. Offhand shooting should be avoided, unless one is honestly good enough. And, that can be defined by answering in the affirmative that a given shot is a 9 out of 10 proposition. I’ll take a rest any day, and fortunately, Mother Nature has generously placed them everywhere.
It’s not run and gun or stomping around with a scattergun. It’s sit still, be quiet and wait for things to develop. And, if the killing power of standard-velocity target ammo is still questioned, consider the fact that it dropped an unsuspecting coyote in its tracks at 30 yards. And, the only reason it came that close to me was because of the ammo I had used to take 3 squirrels from the same chair that morning. Finally, I took one more bushytail that was barking its head off over the coyote incident and called it a morning at 9:05am.
Even though the .22 rimfire ammo hoarding continues, you may want to look twice at some of the top-shelf varieties, such as Eley, RWS, or my favorite, Lapua. No doubt you’ll pay more, but the higher cost is what makes it less desirable to the average shooter and there for you.
The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) is pleased to report that hemorrhagic disease (HD), including EHD and bluetongue virus, seems to have taken a summer vacation in 2014, and the danger of a serious outbreak this year has now passed. Transmitted by biting gnats, the disease usually hits deer hardest in late summer and early fall, especially in unusually hot, dry years.
